I recently finished a course at UH Manoa called Religion & Homosexuality. The course was taught by an elegant lesbian woman, a P.H.D. of theology, who was recently married in Boston to her partner, Linda Krieger. Each week I came to the table and was utterly challenged by this issue. About a quarter of the way through it became almost like an onion which seemed to burn everyone on every side and never offered any refreshment. Unfortunately, God never uses the oranges of life to bring us closer to him, we are most likely to find him swimming in the tears of our onions that have melted us to the core of our Christianity.

I once asked my parents what it was like for them to walk into the WHITE ONLY bathrooms in the deep south. They chuckled and said, we didn’t think about it, it was all we knew. Mid-semester, I had an awaking that I too had been walking through STRAIGHT ONLY doors without even recognizing that homosexuals are not equal, suffering from discrimination and most often denied from churches to lead a life without God or at least without fellowship.

Here is a small portion of my research. Please do not take any of my facts or opinion as authoritative, this is just a deep study I did in class and on my own and I felt I should share it with others. Please feel free to pass along. I have a lot more information on this topic if anyone wants to ask questions, is struggling with this issue personally or just wants prayer feel free to email me: Laneski@LaneDavey.com

On Sunday January 17th, Christians are asked to rally against HB444 and take a stand for traditional family values, social justice and voting.

THE MYTH OF TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE

“Hawaii’s congressional delegation remains opposed to amending the U.S.Constitution to protect traditional marriage”was a statement issued by James Dobson from Focus on the Family, a partner with Hawaii Family Forum on H444.

Many years back I told a (heterosexual) friend of mine, how can we let gays marry, when the idea of marriage comes from God and God condemns homosexuality”. She turned to me and said, well I am not a Christian so why then should I be allowed to marry. This sort of sent me on my journey because in fact my friend was right; marriage was not just a Christian ideal in history nor is it restricted to Christianity in modern America. Matter of fact marriages have been recorded way back to the beginning of time by different nations, cultures and religions. [w16] Jewish marriages in the Bible are not our first record of marriage and even if they were, these marriages are not what we would call “traditional” at all. When Jesus spoke so eloquently about the bond of marriage (Matt 19:4-6), he confirmed an arranged marriage where women as young as 12 1/2 years old were exchanged for property.[w17], [w18],[w19] In these modern times most of us would see this type of contract as a form of child labor, slavery, or even prostitution, but not marriage. Even in early 17th century American history, women were said to have been auctioned off for about 80 pounds of tobacco. [w20] In pre-colonial Hawaii marriages were said to have been “life lasting” as commanded by the god Hulionua, but not monogamous. [w21],[w22]]At the same time Mormons practiced polygamy in the U.S. until 1962. Not until 1967, was it legal for marriage to be between one black man and one white woman or vice versa so traditional marriage up until the 70s was segregated marriage. Thank God we have been redefining marriages since the beginning of time!

A THREAT TO THE FAMILY

“Marriage is to procreate” says Cheryl Camara “If we have this bill, we are going to end the human race, and our kids are going to have this in our schools.”[w5](Star Bulletin) I guess when Cheryl Camara said “our schools”, she means “our” heterosexual schools, our Christian schools? I would have to ask Cheryl to define “our” because whether we teach homosexuality in our schools or not, homosexuals are apart of “our” society and they are a part of “our” schools. Whether a teacher reads the book Heather Has Two Mommys or not, there are going to be Heathers with two Mommys and there are going to be Daddys with roomates in “our” schools. Is the Christian solution for homosexuality, to act like it doesn’t exist, to allow “our” Christian children to treat homosexuals as the former generation, degrading them to depraved animals missed by God. Just because our public school system teaches something doesn’t mean you have to teach that at home. Matter of fact, public schools teach evolution, give out birth control and are for the most part secular. Your beliefs, religious or otherwise can still be taught to your children at home and in church.

THE SCRIPTURE

Camara’s statement that the legalization of LGBT Unions could be the “end to the human race” sounds ridiculous to most of us, but it sheds light on an underlying fear presented by the churches interpretation of Leviticus scriptures. Genesis 19 shares the story of the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah. Most fundamentalist (Christian,Jew or Muslim) believe that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality, hence the name “sodomy”. Basically there is an underlying fear that if Americans accept homosexuality, we will also be punished, even destroyed by God as was Sodom and Gomorrah.

“And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.”1 Kings 14:24It wouldn’t be fair to single out homosexuality as the sin of Sodom. LGBT Christians argue that the sin of Sodom was inhospitality, feminist say that the sin was Lot giving his 2 virgin daughters away to the violent men. In Gen 18 God had already made a deal that he would spare Sodom if there were 10 righteous men so the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah was pretty much decided before this incident ever threatened Lot’s guests. In Leviticus 18, it lists a number of detailed sexual sins which include incest, beastiality and homosexuality. This list of sexual sins are once again followed by this warning of destruction(Lev 18:26)

One Love Ministries in Kaimuki on Civil Unions

I“Jesus clearly endorsed the Mosaic Law as applicable during His lifetime in Matthew 5, and it clearly calls homosexuality an abomination. He also mentioned the account of Sodom and Gomorrah being punished for their actions, so His position on this issue is quite clear.” (One Love Blog)[w6]

If Jesus intent in Matthew 5 was to endorse Mosaic law, its safe to say we are all in big trouble. Mosaic law condemns tatoos, wearing clothes with more than one type of fabric(Lev 11:19) and unJewish hairstyles(Lev 11:27). It stresses the importance of Sabbath Laws (Lev 19:19), tells widowed women to marry their husband’s brother (Deut.25:5) and seems to allow sex with slave women so long as they are not promised to another man.(Lev 11:20). Leviticus 18:22 or Leviticus 20:13 say that “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman” they are an “abomination” punishable by “death”. You should know that the word abomination is used 142 times in the Bible according to King James. Other abominations include eating fish without scales (such as shrimp) and certain kind of birds. Some other things punishable by death were children who were rebellious, married women found not to be virgins, and those caught in the act of adultry.

John 1 which proclaims Jesus as “the word” says “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”John 1:17The Strongs Greek dictionary describes the word law or νόμος: (through the idea of prescriptive usage), generally (regulation), specifically of Moses.. Laws were therefore like a medicine to preserve the Jewish race. For example, If we eat shrimp and are allergic we go to the doctor and get a shot, but in ancient Israel you died. I’m not sure these laws were so much for discipline as they were preservation of the Jewish race so that the Savior could come.

There is also good debate for the words malakos and arsenokoitēs in 1 Timothy 1:10 and 1 Corinthians 6:9 which are translated to mean homosexual, a word we did not even have until 1872. These are the words used ito define homosexuality. In the Strongs Greek dictionary they are translated:

As you can see the original translation does not necessarily describe a homosexual especially if you do not translate the word sodomite to mean homosexual.

The liberal debate goes on to address the fact that homosexuality in Caanan and Egypt was often used in the Pagan worship of Molech and thus was condemned as idol worship.[w23] Some homosexual acts were forced upon male slaves by their slaveowners and some was prostitution. There is also evidence that homosexuality was used in the Greek military and that these male on male love interests were encouraged in order to boost morale.[w24]The Genesis 19 account of Lot is thought by some to be a representation of a type of violent homosexuality which was used to show domination over competing armies. The losing side were often afflicted in what we might compare to “prison sex”. Some think that the sin of Sodom was violence and that God was condemning a violent sex act not a loving consensual relationship. Furthurmore, In Greece and Rome the most prevalent form of men lying with men was in the form of pederasty. This was the practice of older men having relations with young boys. Some scholars say that the relationship was a form of teaching for the young boy and which stopped once he came of age. It was most commonly an extramarital affair. From the articles I read, it seems almost as if pederasty was a form of mentoring performed in account to gain higher knowledge. [w25], [w26],[w27] Gives new meaning to “ Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” Romans 1:22

The liberal debate for homosexuality has a lot of momentum until it reaches Romans 1 which does not use the words malakos and arsenokoitēs, but addresses same-sex relations for both men and women as something that happened after “God gave them over”

“Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” Romans 1:26 This is the first and only time lesbian relationships are condemned in the Bible which makes it a lot harder to pass off these same-sex affairs as violence, pederasty or slavery. These “shameful” lusts are then however included with a list of sins which are labeled as “depravity”.The list includes, gossip, strife, envy and greed, so I think it is safe to say we are all included as men with depraved minds who have been given up to shameful lusts. If we read Romans 1 in an attempt to condemn homosexuals, we miss the whole intent of the passage because we don’t continue on through chapters two and three which share that we should not judge others because we ourselves are sinners who are only justified through the blood of Christ, God’s new plan for our sinful nature.“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)

And yet, even in the grace of Christ we are still called to live our lives according to a Godly standard of morality which brings us back to the same question; did Paul condemn homosexuality as unrighteous in these verses? Though sometimes so seemingly clear cut with a modern interpretation, the historical context keeps us guessing.

The Romans 1 condemnation of homosexuality also has a relative link to idol worship.“And exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”Romans 1:23 Was Paul condemning real people who were doing these acts or the worship of statues who did them for religious practices. Whatever was going on in Paul’s time, is it fair to compare what seems to be the depiction of lustful promiscuity to LGBT couples who are vying for the right to share committed monogamus relationships under civil law?

PROCREATION

My final comments on Romans 1 concern the Christian push that “marriage is for procreation” as stated by Camara above. Again, I think most people in modern America see their marriage as more than a fertility exercise and consider this ideal somewhat ridiculous. The Bible gives us a great example of how laws change according to their historical context with this very idea of procreation. “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen1:28)was commanded at the very beginning of time, but Jesus highlights followers who have “renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven” ( Matt 19:11) and makes it clear that “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage”Matt 22:30 Paul says“It is good for a man not to marry”I Corn 7:1, unless he“burns with passion”1 Corn 7:9 and warns that“ those who marry will face many troubles in this life”I Corn 7:28

While neither Paul nor Jesus advocated for marriage, you could argue that both offered procreation as a reason for these arranged contracts they called marriage in that time. Jesus brings up the fact that “at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'” Matt 19:4 before concluding that married couples should “become one flesh”(vs5) unseparable by man (vs6)

Paul may have also made the case for procreation in his Romans 1 account as the main reason for the condemnation of homosexuality “God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” Romans 1:20 After reading several commentaries I understand this passage to suggest that we are to define right from wrong by what we see God has created in nature. This then supports the conservative opposition that if the parts don’t fit then God did not mean for them to go together. I don’t think I know more than God nor would I ever try to challenge the incredible works of Paul, but in the 21 century we are also without excuse in denying what stands before us in the form of a hermaphrodite, intersexperson)? What would Paul say to them and what would he say to people who from their earliest memories were challenged by gender and orientation?

Divine nature to people in Paul’s time (Christian or otherwise) dictated a patriarchal society. Women were property or slaves, and slavery was not criticized. Though God may be unchanging, his creation surely evolves, and Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit or "Parakletos" as our advocate to interpret it. Can we take the message of Paul and leave this patriarchal society that Jesus himself obliterated? He spoke to Samaritan women, hung out with Roman tax collectors and healed the untouchable. Christ challenged the social norms instead of conforming to them and was killed for it. Are we really "set free" or nothing more than modern day Pharisees who missed God.

WORDLVIEW

Though my first encounter with the non-denominational, evangelical church consisted of about 20 Christians dancing in a circle with tamborines speaking tongues, they seem to have more recently emerged as a conservative superpower. The current trend of a Christian Worldview that forces a set of absolute truths based on one groups interpretation of scripture is nothing more than modern day Colonialism which in the past perpetuated slavery, racism, and oppression through Christianity and the misuse of it. I shudder as haole Christians claim the state motto in opposition to HB-444. (“The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”) When missionaries like them came to the islands in the late 1800s they defined "righteousness" by outlawing surfing, hula, and the Hawaiian language, calling all these cultural practices pagan. I guess those absolute truths proved to be wrong, destructive, even evil. I hope you will consider this as you go to sign a petition against HB444. Are 24,000 signatures against gay marriage the message Jesus wants to send homosexuals?

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN (VOTING)

“ In 1998, the people of Hawaii sent a clear message that marriage in

Hawaii must remain between one man and one woman. Civil unions are just another attempt to thwart the will of the people.” (Hawaii Family Forum) w15]

First of all Jesus never said marriage was between one man and woman. Look it up. The will of the majority does not always do what is right for the will of the minority. An 11 year old vote does not show a clear message of the will of the people. My Christian classmate Logan Laturi brings up the valid point that he and anyone 29 years old or younger has never voted on this issue. They are the ones most likely to turn the vote. Besides, 11 years of introspection on this issue has allowed this 39 year old Christian, to change her vote in favor of Civil Unions. Even if a man wanted to marry his dog and a woman wants to marry herself, it does not threaten the sanctity of my 21 century marriage which is also a lifestyle “choice”, not a contract of class status. Our public schools should teach about homosexuality in order to stop the violence against these people. Do I think God condemned homosexuality in the Bible? Probably. But as a one who can barely stand an hour without cable or electricity, I think its safe to leave some room for relativism here. Would Jesus condemn homosexuality today? I really don’t know, but as a heterosexual it is not my place to pass judgment on LGBT friends or fellow-believers, only to support their moral choices designed through their own relationship and experiences with God. I believe in an almighty God who has the power to reveal himself to each individual through the Holy Spirit.